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Lin Dan's career is undoubtedly the most legendary in the sport-two Olympic gold medals, five world championships and 666 professional victories, spanning two decades. In order to understand the 36-year-old longevity player, Lin has played against five generations of different Indian badminton players. As a 17-year-old rookie against Pullela Gopichand in 2001. He was at his peak against Anup Sridhar and Arvind Bhat in the mid-2000s. Parupalli Kashyap at the turn of the decade. In the fall of his career, he played against Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Sai Praneeth in the mid to late 2010s. When they faced off at the 2018 New Zealand Open, he was still a big obstacle for the young Laksha Sen who is considered the most promising young Indian genius.

So what makes him such a terrible opponent, for so long? These different generations of Indian stars are trying to interpret this badminton personage nicknamed "Super Dan".

Gopichand is the first Indian to meet Lin in a senior competition, first of all his physical fitness. He will continue to be one of only two Indians with a record victory against Lin (2-1), but he lost the first game in the first round of the 2001 Singapore Open. Jeremy Lin's career is still very early, but his ruthless approach has left a deep impression on people. "Lin Dan and later Li Zongwei brought new physical qualities to the sport. They did it to a level that didn't exist before him," Gopichand recalled.

Former national champion Arvind Bart believes that it is this health condition that created the huge gap between Lin and others at the peak of his career. "It's otherworldly. It seems that he has figured out everyone. It's as if he was thinking,'I just need to continue the rally and everyone will be exhausted.' He just killed you through the rally. He doesn't even have to think about it. Try different things," Bhat said.

Even in the latter part of his career, Lin still retained most of his physical fitness. Prannoy recounted an incident when he first met Lin. When he saw Lin training in the hotel gym on the morning of the first match of the 2015 Malaysia Open, his first reaction was that the match was over. "On the day of the game, you didn't really force yourself to make your game full of energy. Lin Dan really worked hard in the gym. He groaned and yelled. With such hard work, he couldn't play his game anymore. The intensity of his training on the day of the game was higher than what I did in the regular training class. It didn’t make sense to me. Then in the evening, we played the first game and he" beat me in a continuous game. I want to know what this guy is made of!

He remembered another anecdote. "I always wanted to hold Lin Dan's racket because I heard it was tailor-made for him. I had the opportunity to do this at the 2015 French Open. It is really heavy. Most players prefer lighter rackets. , But Lin "Dan prefers heavier ones. This way he hits more shots than most players. "

However, Lin was not a punitive rally winning machine at first. When they first met. Gopichand recalled that Lin was a complete attacker. "He was very aggressive at the time. He was lightning fast. He has always focused on offense." Although Gopichand lost their first encounter, he said he was not particularly worried about Lin's game. "He has a very typical Chinese style of play, and I am very satisfied with it. My game revolves around touch and deception. This is the perfect counterattack against this offensive style," and then in the next two games. Said Gopishang who defeated Jeremy Lin.

In his early career, Lin played a fast-paced game. "He is a complete offensive player. He is completely different from the man who became later. If you lift 10 shuttles, 9 of them will be hit by you," said Anup Sridhar, who played him, from 2007 to 2009. Second-rate.

"There is no doubt that he is very good, but for a while he often lost to Taufik Hidayat and Peter Gade. Even if I played against him in 2003, I also lost, but I did not stay. He is unparalleled under this impression," Bart said.

However, although Lin Ben could be content to be a pony with one move, he redesigned his game. He maintained his pace, but added a ruthless assembly step to the game. Gopichand explains how this makes the difference. "His games are obviously very stylish and charming, such as his cross-court jump shots," he said. "But you may be able to win once with a fascinating blow. To win in men's singles for 20 years, you need to do more. The way he jumps on the spike is one thing, but it can change your game. To achieve what I need is my ability to gain the most from his game."

"What makes him great is that he came in a certain style. He adapted to his weaknesses and turned his weaknesses into his own strengths. When he lost, he went back and continued to work hard. There is a lot today. Batting and footwork were not much when he was there. 20 years old. Changing and exercising his ability to play and physical fitness requires a lot of work, discipline and understanding. It requires a mindset that is willing to try different things. Lin Dan owns it. That's what makes him different."

Lin's contemporaries believed that he had all the elements to be a near-perfect badminton player. But he was not the only talented player of that era. For example, Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who won 732 professional victories, and Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, who won gold medals in the World Championships and Olympic Games, are examples. However, there are some things that make Lin unique. "If you consider it purely from a technical point of view, I still think that Li Zongwei is a better player technically. But when you really put them on the field, Lin Dan has a better record [28-12]," Gopicand said.

What sets Lin apart is his unparalleled self-confidence. "The biggest difference between Lin Dan and others is that he can play perfect and error-free offensive badminton at critical moments," Bart said.

For most of these ten years, Lin Dan carried an aura of inevitable victory. "Most of the players who played with him were frightened. That was a real problem. You were afraid of attacking him, so you fell into the trap of uniting with him-he was a real monster. He was as strong as him. Got it. He is mentally like a bull. He is very confident in his abilities. There is a real fear because you know he will make you reach 18 years old, but he will almost certainly pick up the equipment and win from it. . For many players, this must be a psychological difficulty," Gopichand said.

Playing against Lin means that the players know that there is almost no room for error. "If you don't play the best game you can, you have no chance of winning," said Sridhar, who has never beaten Lin in five games.

During the game, when his opponent was sweating profusely and sought coaching guidance, Lin used corner kicks for different purposes. "From my experience, he didn't want to get advice [from his coach], but told them what his strategy was for the rest of the game," Planoy recalled.

For Bhat, Lin's mentality sets him apart. "One thing that allowed Lin Dan to surpass Li Zongwei was their three finals-2011 WC, 2012 Olympics and 2013 WC. They were at the peak of their careers at that stage. In all three games, Li won. "One set, he leads in the last set of each game [and he also had two match points in 2011]. So why does only one player win each time? " he asks.

Bhat believes that these three victories have consolidated Lin Dan's great proposition. "There is no doubt that he is the greatest player in the history of men's singles. He is the only leader. In tennis, you can always have the argument that Roger Federer may not have a record of winning against certain players. , Or he did not win the biggest championship title "Lin Dan has nothing. He won everything and beat the best player of his era," he said.

For all of Lin's achievements, it is believed that lasting longer than he should will tarnish his legacy. In the past three seasons, Jeremy Lin's win-loss record dropped to 47-41, and his career record at the end of 2017 was 619-92, and his most recent career ranking was 19.

"I think he should retire two years ago. Maybe he thinks he can participate in another Olympic Games. But because his body is not as strong as before, this gives opponents a better chance to catch up with him," Bart said.

However, despite his declining skills, Lin was still able to show the sparks of his old abilities, such as the victory at the 2019 Malaysia Open, where he defeated the 2016 Olympic champion Chen Long in the final. According to Prannoy, Lin retained the ability to defeat anyone that day. "At the 2018 Hong Kong Open, he participated in [the world's number one] Kento Momota. The air conditioner is on one side of the court, so it is impossible to control the shuttle from that side. Everything "you hit very far . Every player on the other side of the court is struggling. But when Lin Dan played on that side, he didn't hit a long ball, and he was able to control the ball in the worst case. "

Lin can even inspire inspiration in the final stages of his career. "It's incredible to play like him. You can see how much he loves the sport. This inspires a lot of young players. It's really inspiring to see this passion for the sport," Prannoy Say.

His love for this sport makes him special. The opponent noticed this from the very beginning of his career. "You can always feel his love for the sport. He is not a talkative. You will never see him in a restaurant or shopping mall where most players go. He just always likes to stay in the same room. Here. He is not the most talkative player or anything," Bart said. "But one place where he always stands out is on the court."